1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, an image processing method and a storage medium.
2. Related Background Art
FIG. 5 is a schematic structural view showing one example of a conventional recording system. In FIG. 5, numeral 501 denotes a host computer used when a user performs image editing and manages a recording apparatus 505 actually printing image data. Numeral 502 denotes an image editing software running on the host computer 501. Numeral 503 denotes a printer driver for changing the format of the image data in the host computer 501 into the printable format when the recording apparatus 505 prints the data. Numeral 504 denotes a communication unit for performing communication between the host computer 501 and recording apparatus 505.
Subsequently, an operation of the conventional recording system having such the structure as above will be explained hereinafter. The conventional recording system is composed of the host computer 501 for performing image change and the recording apparatus 505 for performing the actual image printing. The user utilizes the image editing software 502 on the side of the host computer 501 to perform a necessary working to the image data intended to be printed. For example, by utilizing the software 502, the user performs change of color, change of an image size, or partial change of the image data. Then, after the printer driver 503 changes the format of the changed image data into the data format printable in the recording apparatus 505, the changed data is transferred to the recording apparatus 505 through the communication unit 504. Thus, the user can actually obtain the printed results.
Since the conventional recording system has been structured as described above, even if the information concerning copyright of the image, logo, date and the like has been written into the image data intended to be printed, such the information can be easily overwritten or erased by utilizing the image editing software 502 or the like. For this reason, there has arisen the problem that the copyright information or the like is often overwritten or erased erroneously or intentionally, whereby it is difficult to retain the copyright information or the like in the image being the printed result.
As a countermeasure to prevent from erasing the copyright information or the like, it has been thought a method to prohibit the image editing by scrambling the image data according to a certain rule. However, in this method, there has also arisen the problem that the working (e.g., color balance adjustment, color change, image editing or the like) to the part other than the copyright information part is impossible, whereby the extremely unsatisfactory situation occurs according as the printed results.
An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described conventional problems.
Another object of the present invention is to perform image editing such that the image editing is not reflected on a feature of an image never intended to be changed.
As a preferable example to achieve the object, the present invention provides an image processing apparatus comprising:
a processing means for performing editing to image data corresponding to an image; and
a control means for prohibiting the editing to a part of the image data.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a novel function.